A previous owner of our house, Dr. Edward Rosenberry always drove Franklins because they were extremely reliable. This was a trait especially important in the early 20th century when cars were still somewhat of a novelty. Apparently the Franklins also handled well in snow. We have a picture of him sitting in front of our house in a very antique looking Franklin circa 1910 or so.
I never saw one of these in person. The few folks I spoke to that heard of them (when they were alive) had these in high praise. This was an excellent example, and I love that these owners drive them and not use them for static displays.
Totally agree this car was awesome and the ride was unexpected they saw me walking around and asked if I wanted a ride I shot their car earlier that day but they had to leave for pass and review it was cool
Thank you so much glad you did this episode. I was afraid that there wasn’t as much information as I generally give some cars are really hard to find information on. This was one of them.
I want to do a Morgan so bad but that’s a car that I really wanna try I wanna do one of the newer ones I guess it’s not really new probably by 10 years old at this point maybe even older than that.. but it’s up it’s been on the list for the last year and a half I’ve only seen one and it wasn’t really a Morgan it was kind of like a knock off of one.. But yeah definitely I’m going to try to do that car it’ll probably be next year
That is a beautiful car. The dash is unique. I enjoy your reviews from the Greenfield Village Festival. It looks like you had a great time talking to people and getting rides. I wish I could go to that show. I used to be in Dearborn all the time but I was always working so I never had time to make it to Greenfield Village. For the WYR I'd choose the 1923 Packard and the 1923 Hupmobile.
Sweet choices if you get the opportunity to go next year I can’t recommend that show enough it’s absolutely incredible and it will definitely ruin you as far as any other show goes there isn’t anything comparable to that it’s actually inspired me one day I would love to put on or at least figure out a way to do something like that but with art deco cars maybe up until 1960 with the 50s cars once you see the 50s cars move around they’re incredible as well as a lot of those art deco cars the sound and smells are just awesome and it was like going back in time for a weekend There is a couple more episodes in the pipeline from that weekend still which is crazy because that was months ago there is another Franklin but I’m not sure how much footage I got from that one because I was missing some stuff there is a 1930 Hupmobile but that one is missing footage as well because I did not shoot the gauges or do it over the hood but we did get to go for a ride.. And 1904 St. Louis which I’m waiting for information on
Pretty cool air cooled auto.😎This was never my favorite era of autos but I've really come to appreciate it by seeing them on here. I would pick the Packard and the Hup!
For being an "economy" model, this Demi has beaucoup features like hi-lo lights, dash lighting, fuel gauge, a 'dead pedal' footrest by the accelerator, door pockets, and even a Waltham clock 😎 Some might have been options but this still rivals what luxury cars of the time were offering. The 'lipped' door edges are something I've not seen in any other cars, but the removable windows might have cause some consternation if an unexpected rain shower happened and you'd left them at home 😮 Maybe lacking in longevity, wood-framed bodies could be better than one might think, and for the time more repairable by the existing car repair shops. And a wood frame was perfectly adequate for these cars, being able to flex some which is probably why their ride qualities were rated so high. The "shock absorber" design is interesting, apparently working only on rebound and not compression. If you've seen vids of these older cars on rough terrain, you'll notice they bounce around a lot on rebound 🙃Friction shocks couldn't be set to work well on both smooth and rough roads. Gotta love the elegant engine and styling for the whole car; beautiful but not gaudy. People think the "5 MPH" bumpers mandated in '75 were a new thing, but these old spring bumpers handled small impacts equally well, being easily straightened after a harder impact. These cars screamed of quality, and the best engineering of the time 😷 On the channel, I spend far too much time enjoying the frequency of vids here- please keep it up 😊The intro segment is a bit longish though. I won't revive anything on the closing. I also love the WYR portion; unique and very pleasant to encourage viewer input, and reading what others choose and why often adds to the knowledge base on the featured subjects 👍👍 WYR, A close race by the Lincoln, but I like the Packard better. #2 goes to the Hupmobile, though the Will St. Clair looks more elegant. I just don't like the 'laid back' front of the Franklin nor the way the hood transitions to the passenger compartment; just a it too 'swoopy' for my tastes.
Thank you so much for sharing all that insight and information I don’t know if I would call this the economy model there was a lot more expensive car brands to choose from it might’ve been middle of the road option as far as luxury brands like wills saint Clair costs $3500 That was a pretty expensive car but it also feature dual overhead cam but it only made 70 hp
Hi Jay!: The FRANKLIN! Those were interesting cars! Saw one at an auction one time that was about the era of the one you show. Was FASCINATED by the air-cooled engine and the laminated wood chassis! SUPER COOL! It looked as though it was un-restored. It was a 4 door sedan with a very similar body style to the one shown. WYR#1 Gotta go Packard!! #2 Wills Sainte Claire ALWAYS admired those VERY Cool cars!
What a nice machine. It is probably better than new. They sure did not have that paint. I really like the dash. The front shocks are shocks common spring loaded drum.They evolve to the hydraulic dampered lever type used 30 and 40's. Good job.
Fascinating! I grew up around air cooled small planes (including a Stinson with a Franklin engine) and VW Beetles. That engine did not look like I expected.
Makes you wonder about “what ifs” of history. What if we’d gone air cooled on more cars? What if the Hindenburg disaster didn’t happen and we rode airships? @@What.its.like.
Very cool car. It's a lesson in trying out engineering ideas and letting the market decide the winner. For example, the wooden frame was a great idea for lightweight and resilience, but durability was more important to the market.
That engine is a really cool engine design.. They have one of the Gilmore Auto Museum just a chassis here is the link www.flickr.com/photos/sjb4photos/5861588873
Franklins with full eliptic springs and the wooden bodies were always said to ride exceptionally well vs. the competition. Never ridden in one, don't know. But, considering virtually nothing at the time had shock absorbers as we know them (snubbers instead), I could see that claim. They were also very light, using lots of aluminum. WYR: 1) Lincoln - at 90 hp it far outpaced others in its class. 2) Wills St. Clair, mainly for its engineering and styling.
Sweet choices I’ve only ridden in two cars with elliptical springs the other one was the Nash this road a whole lot better than that that one whenever he turned I went with him this one rode really nice
Sorry I'm so far behind! Wow - what a restoration, the car looks and drives like new. WYR: Wow - tough one, but the Packard. Second is easier - the Franklin. They were so good, and so far ahead of their time. I use them as an example of human nature. Franklin was forced to create something that looked like a radiator to sell cars, otherwise some thought they "looked funny". Thank you as always ~ Chuck
I was wondering were you’ve been happy your back =) I love this era of franklin it won’t be the last I just need to get some franklin books before doing another one Information not on the internet
@@What.its.like. I truly am sorry. Work has been very busy, the good kind of busy. And my wife and I have several projects going on. I promise I’ll catch up because I appreciate your work a bunch!
Don’t be sorry I totally get it.. some people get weirded out when I say something like that.. I try to run this as a community, just wanted to know you was missed =)
That Franklin is in my favorite color.Those spring bumpers is like the 70's car bumpers without the bulk First pick the Franklin, second Wills St Claire, both are high class cars I would have owned back in the day
1) Packard, 2) Willis Sante Clair. For an aircooled motor is seemed very quiet. The bumpers are a good example of nickle plating. Chrome platting was a few years in the future and started to become more common in the 1930's. You had to polish nickle as it would not be as durable as chrome.
While extremely attracted to air cooled vehicles, I would take that Wills St Claire in a heartbeat. Designed by C. Harold Wills, it was an extremely high quality car. Wills invented the back up light, and also is the designer of the Ford blue oval (he worked for Ford before striking out on his own). I also think the St Claire had an overhead camshaft.
I have to find a wills Saint Clair that would be a really cool car to feature I believe they were door overhead cam but they didn’t produce that much power like 70 hp was what they were rated at Great choices =)
Interesting car. On the springs, they are full elliptical, so now you know why those we are more accustomed to seeing are called semi-elliptical. The quoted figure of 25hp seems low for 3.2 litres even in 1923. I'd have expected a number more like 40 or 45.
Fanklin continued to make air cooled engines for aircraft after ceasing auto production. I believe that they still exist. Air cooled had advantages before antifreeze.
Someone commented that the franklin aircraft engine was from this company. I was an aircraft mech. I should have caught that. Thanks for saying that. The franklin avaition engine was very common. Small plane stinson piper cub etc.
1923 Franklin for the win! Jay, I've noticed that the engines are a bit noisy, I'm not sure if that's because of recording issues or are they a bit louder than comparable water-cooled engines? Cool instrument panel, Tesla had good taste in gauge design!! 😊
This car was designed, and built, half way between the end of WWI, and the beginning of the stock market crash/Great depression. You know all the people that anything to do with this car has long since passed away. I wonder what they would say if they could see it now in these modern times?
The Packard would be my pick, just because. The air-cooled engine shows no fins or heat dissipation features (like Corvair or Porsche shrouding). How does it keep cool?
The fan is in the front and it shrouds Here is a better look at the engine cylinders are cast as single units with fins on each Scroll to the bottom of the page engines.egr.uh.edu/episode/2558
Were they the original 5mph bumpers? 🙂 Ermergerd! A Pinto gas tank! LOL I like the concept of this car, and 90% of the execution. That paint is hideous... 🙂I'm just wondering about the engine. It's so much bigger than most air cooled engines, and no fan... wondering if the engines were able to withstand the heat. Kinda cool that this was something built local! I'm 45 minutes east of Syracuse! Jay, question... What exactly does a spark advance do? I've seen them on all these older cars and am totally clueless. WYR: 1) Just because it's different, the Franklin... in anything but Kermit Green. 2) Ditto scenario 1.
It has a fan and shroud I should have gone over that more it would be the last franklin there is another in the pipeline I just didn’t get to finish I don’t remember what I’m missing but I’ll take a look at that, that one won’t be up for a while anyway need to space things apart Great choices
It got all screwed up I bought the software and it’s still glitching it wasn’t like that until I saved it I’ll just have to make 100% sure next time that nothing got moved
It wouldn't be Sara Smile, Hall & Oates, would it?
Yeah buddy congratulations you got it I’m over here thinking that I pulled a fast one over you guys but you’re too good. =)
Good job !
A previous owner of our house, Dr. Edward Rosenberry always drove Franklins because they were extremely reliable. This was a trait especially important in the early 20th century when cars were still somewhat of a novelty. Apparently the Franklins also handled well in snow. We have a picture of him sitting in front of our house in a very antique looking Franklin circa 1910 or so.
Great story thank you so much for sharing that memory =)
WYR: All of them.
That car looks amazing.
That franklin was cool
I never saw one of these in person. The few folks I spoke to that heard of them (when they were alive) had these in high praise. This was an excellent example, and I love that these owners drive them and not use them for static displays.
Totally agree this car was awesome and the ride was unexpected they saw me walking around and asked if I wanted a ride I shot their car earlier that day but they had to leave for pass and review it was cool
Thank you Jay, another great video.
Thank you so much glad you did this episode. I was afraid that there wasn’t as much information as I generally give some cars are really hard to find information on. This was one of them.
No doubt, but you pulled if off nicely. I would love to see a piece on Morgan and a piece on Brush
I want to do a Morgan so bad but that’s a car that I really wanna try I wanna do one of the newer ones I guess it’s not really new probably by 10 years old at this point maybe even older than that.. but it’s up it’s been on the list for the last year and a half I’ve only seen one and it wasn’t really a Morgan it was kind of like a knock off of one.. But yeah definitely I’m going to try to do that car it’ll probably be next year
That is a beautiful car. The dash is unique. I enjoy your reviews from the Greenfield Village Festival. It looks like you had a great time talking to people and getting rides. I wish I could go to that show. I used to be in Dearborn all the time but I was always working so I never had time to make it to Greenfield Village. For the WYR I'd choose the 1923 Packard and the 1923 Hupmobile.
Sweet choices if you get the opportunity to go next year I can’t recommend that show enough it’s absolutely incredible and it will definitely ruin you as far as any other show goes there isn’t anything comparable to that it’s actually inspired me one day I would love to put on or at least figure out a way to do something like that but with art deco cars maybe up until 1960 with the 50s cars once you see the 50s cars move around they’re incredible as well as a lot of those art deco cars the sound and smells are just awesome and it was like going back in time for a weekend
There is a couple more episodes in the pipeline from that weekend still which is crazy because that was months ago there is another Franklin but I’m not sure how much footage I got from that one because I was missing some stuff there is a 1930 Hupmobile but that one is missing footage as well because I did not shoot the gauges or do it over the hood but we did get to go for a ride.. And 1904 St. Louis which I’m waiting for information on
Pretty cool air cooled auto.😎This was never my favorite era of autos but I've really come to appreciate it by seeing them on here. I would pick the Packard and the Hup!
Sweet choices we need more Hupmoblies so cool and so hard to find
For being an "economy" model, this Demi has beaucoup features like hi-lo lights, dash lighting, fuel gauge, a 'dead pedal' footrest by the accelerator, door pockets, and even a Waltham clock 😎 Some might have been options but this still rivals what luxury cars of the time were offering. The 'lipped' door edges are something I've not seen in any other cars, but the removable windows might have cause some consternation if an unexpected rain shower happened and you'd left them at home 😮 Maybe lacking in longevity, wood-framed bodies could be better than one might think, and for the time more repairable by the existing car repair shops. And a wood frame was perfectly adequate for these cars, being able to flex some which is probably why their ride qualities were rated so high.
The "shock absorber" design is interesting, apparently working only on rebound and not compression. If you've seen vids of these older cars on rough terrain, you'll notice they bounce around a lot on rebound 🙃Friction shocks couldn't be set to work well on both smooth and rough roads. Gotta love the elegant engine and styling for the whole car; beautiful but not gaudy. People think the "5 MPH" bumpers mandated in '75 were a new thing, but these old spring bumpers handled small impacts equally well, being easily straightened after a harder impact. These cars screamed of quality, and the best engineering of the time 😷
On the channel, I spend far too much time enjoying the frequency of vids here- please keep it up 😊The intro segment is a bit longish though. I won't revive anything on the closing. I also love the WYR portion; unique and very pleasant to encourage viewer input, and reading what others choose and why often adds to the knowledge base on the featured subjects 👍👍
WYR, A close race by the Lincoln, but I like the Packard better. #2 goes to the Hupmobile, though the Will St. Clair looks more elegant. I just don't like the 'laid back' front of the Franklin nor the way the hood transitions to the passenger compartment; just a it too 'swoopy' for my tastes.
Thank you so much for sharing all that insight and information I don’t know if I would call this the economy model there was a lot more expensive car brands to choose from it might’ve been middle of the road option as far as luxury brands like wills saint Clair costs $3500 That was a pretty expensive car but it also feature dual overhead cam but it only made 70 hp
Hi Jay!: The FRANKLIN! Those were interesting cars! Saw one at an auction one time that was about the era of the one you show. Was FASCINATED by the air-cooled engine and the laminated wood chassis! SUPER COOL! It looked as though it was un-restored. It was a 4 door sedan with a very similar body style to the one shown. WYR#1 Gotta go Packard!! #2 Wills Sainte Claire ALWAYS admired those VERY Cool cars!
Awesome choices glad you dig this episode I need to get a book on franklin information is spotty on the internet
What a nice machine. It is probably better than new. They sure did not have that paint. I really like the dash. The front shocks are shocks common spring loaded drum.They evolve to the hydraulic dampered lever type used 30 and 40's. Good job.
Thank you for that information =)
What a beautiful example! Thank you for featuring it, Jay. And I'll take the Lincoln and the Wills St. Claire.
Awesome choices
I wish I could find out more about this model I’ll need to get some books
Fascinating! I grew up around air cooled small planes (including a Stinson with a Franklin engine) and VW Beetles. That engine did not look like I expected.
That engine is a super cool engine pity it didn’t make more power tho
Makes you wonder about “what ifs” of history. What if we’d gone air cooled on more cars? What if the Hindenburg disaster didn’t happen and we rode airships? @@What.its.like.
Very cool car. It's a lesson in trying out engineering ideas and letting the market decide the winner. For example, the wooden frame was a great idea for lightweight and resilience, but durability was more important to the market.
That engine is a really cool engine design..
They have one of the Gilmore Auto Museum just a chassis here is the link
www.flickr.com/photos/sjb4photos/5861588873
Franklins with full eliptic springs and the wooden bodies were always said to ride exceptionally well vs. the competition. Never ridden in one, don't know. But, considering virtually nothing at the time had shock absorbers as we know them (snubbers instead), I could see that claim. They were also very light, using lots of aluminum. WYR: 1) Lincoln - at 90 hp it far outpaced others in its class. 2) Wills St. Clair, mainly for its engineering and styling.
Sweet choices
I’ve only ridden in two cars with elliptical springs the other one was the Nash this road a whole lot better than that that one whenever he turned I went with him this one rode really nice
Sorry I'm so far behind! Wow - what a restoration, the car looks and drives like new. WYR: Wow - tough one, but the Packard. Second is easier - the Franklin. They were so good, and so far ahead of their time. I use them as an example of human nature. Franklin was forced to create something that looked like a radiator to sell cars, otherwise some thought they "looked funny". Thank you as always ~ Chuck
I was wondering were you’ve been happy your back =) I love this era of franklin it won’t be the last I just need to get some franklin books before doing another one Information not on the internet
@@What.its.like. I truly am sorry. Work has been very busy, the good kind of busy. And my wife and I have several projects going on. I promise I’ll catch up because I appreciate your work a bunch!
Don’t be sorry I totally get it.. some people get weirded out when I say something like that.. I try to run this as a community, just wanted to know you was missed =)
This looks like a well designed car, I would still take the packard.
The Packard would definitely be faster the owner was telling me that this car would cruise 40-45
That Franklin is in my favorite color.Those spring bumpers is like the 70's car bumpers without the bulk First pick the Franklin, second Wills St Claire, both are high class cars I would have owned back in the day
Im with you, love the green on this franklin..
Hope to cover a wills saint Clair next year bummed I didn’t get to do a Chrysler airfow
I always loved Hupmobiles.
They are so cool 1935 is my favorite year
1) Packard, 2) Willis Sante Clair. For an aircooled motor is seemed very quiet. The bumpers are a good example of nickle plating. Chrome platting was a few years in the future and started to become more common in the 1930's. You had to polish nickle as it would not be as durable as chrome.
Awesome choices need to cover a wills saint Clair
The Lincoln or the Packard.
Sweet choices =)
While extremely attracted to air cooled vehicles, I would take that Wills St Claire in a heartbeat. Designed by C. Harold Wills, it was an extremely high quality car. Wills invented the back up light, and also is the designer of the Ford blue oval (he worked for Ford before striking out on his own). I also think the St Claire had an overhead camshaft.
I have to find a wills Saint Clair that would be a really cool car to feature I believe they were door overhead cam but they didn’t produce that much power like 70 hp was what they were rated at
Great choices =)
Interesting car. On the springs, they are full elliptical, so now you know why those we are more accustomed to seeing are called semi-elliptical. The quoted figure of 25hp seems low for 3.2 litres even in 1923. I'd have expected a number more like 40 or 45.
Fanklin continued to make air cooled engines for aircraft after ceasing auto production. I believe that they still exist. Air cooled had advantages before antifreeze.
Yes and Preston Tucker owned the company for a while..
Franklin aircraft engines went under in I think the early eighties, the assets were sold to a Polish company P.Z.L.
The Packard would be my choice
Awesome I love packards as well =)
Someone commented that the franklin aircraft engine was from this company. I was an aircraft mech. I should have caught that. Thanks for saying that. The franklin avaition engine was very common. Small plane stinson piper cub etc.
1923 Franklin for the win! Jay, I've noticed that the engines are a bit noisy, I'm not sure if that's because of recording issues or are they a bit louder than comparable water-cooled engines? Cool instrument panel, Tesla had good taste in gauge design!! 😊
The GoPro has a pretty good pick up that engine sounded normal it wasn’t loud at all
@@What.its.like. oh ok, thanks! Franklins do have a unique sound when running, which is a neat distinctive feature. 🚂
There was a guy who started his car behind me his car was loud I think that’s the car you heard
This car was designed, and built, half way between the end of WWI, and the beginning of the stock market crash/Great depression. You know all the people that anything to do with this car has long since passed away. I wonder what they would say if they could see it now in these modern times?
The owners were telling me that they owned this car for a couple years and fully restored it themselves
1923 PACKARD TWIN SIX 1923 HUPMOBILE
Great choices
Need to find another hupp mobile
Beautiful car jay but for me I’ll take a hot rod Lincoln
Haha nice =)
The Packard would be my pick, just because. The air-cooled engine shows no fins or heat dissipation features (like Corvair or Porsche shrouding). How does it keep cool?
The fan is in the front and it shrouds
Here is a better look at the engine cylinders are cast as single units with fins on each
Scroll to the bottom of the page
engines.egr.uh.edu/episode/2558
The Packard and the frankin
Sweet choice
Can you review an Excalibur from the 70’s
Yeah I’ll look for one
I'd take a Packard,any time!
Great choice
I love packards as well =)
Franklin in both cases
Sweet choices =)
Lincoln---------- Packard
Great choices =)
Were they the original 5mph bumpers? 🙂 Ermergerd! A Pinto gas tank! LOL I like the concept of this car, and 90% of the execution. That paint is hideous... 🙂I'm just wondering about the engine. It's so much bigger than most air cooled engines, and no fan... wondering if the engines were able to withstand the heat. Kinda cool that this was something built local! I'm 45 minutes east of Syracuse! Jay, question... What exactly does a spark advance do? I've seen them on all these older cars and am totally clueless. WYR: 1) Just because it's different, the Franklin... in anything but Kermit Green. 2) Ditto scenario 1.
It has a fan and shroud I should have gone over that more it would be the last franklin there is another in the pipeline I just didn’t get to finish I don’t remember what I’m missing but I’ll take a look at that, that one won’t be up for a while anyway need to space things apart
Great choices
What happened to the audio at 0:55?
It got all screwed up I bought the software and it’s still glitching it wasn’t like that until I saved it I’ll just have to make 100% sure next time that nothing got moved
Franklin, Wills Sainte Claire.
Sweet choices
I need to find a wills saint Clair
You need to re-cut the intro!
I don’t know why it sounds echoey. It happens from time to time.
Jay, I thought you were trying something new.
No I don’t know why it was like that sometimes it just gets sometimes the software is just weird
Chi-Lites Oh Girl ?
Good guess it’s a 70s song
1975 song
WYR 1. Packard 2. Franklin
Awesome choices =)
Lol, pick a audio track .
Part of the intro sounds like what we called "print thru" back in the days of tape.
Part of the intro sounds like what we called "print thru" back in the days of tape.
1923 Packard
Sweet choice
I'm partial to packards @@What.its.like.
Not much is better than a packard =)
Packard………Hupp
Awesome choices